Kerala nun case: Bishop grilled for 7 hours, process to continue today
Kochi: The police interrogated rape-accused bishop Franco Mulakkal for seven hours at the hi-tech interrogation facility at Tripunithura on Wednesday and allowed him to leave for the day with the questioning set to continue on Thursday.
While coming out of the Crime Branch (CB) office at Tripunithura, Kottayam district police chief and Superintendent of Police (SP) Hari Sankar said that the first phase of the interrogation was over and that the quizzing will continue on Thursday at the same time. “As of now, the bishop is cooperating with us and the questioning will continue tomorrow,” he said.
Asked whether the day’s session helped resolve issues on the contradictions in the statements of the accused and He also refused to say anything on the arrest of the bishop at this stage.
Meanwhile, when the bishop was coming out of the Crime Branch office, the activists of the All-India Youth Federation (AIYF) waved black flags and stopped the car for a short time.
The bishop arrived in Kochi on Tuesday evening and stayed at Thrissur for the night. His travel to Kochi by car on Wednesday morning was dramatic as he skipped the media and reached the police station around 11 a.m.
Earlier, it was said that the interrogation would commence at 10 a.m.
The grilling led by Mr. Hari Sankar and DySP K. Subhash started shortly after a discussion with the Inspector-General of Police (Ernakulam Range), Vijay Sakhare, who reviewed the progress of investigation and their preparedness for the session.
Earlier, Vaikom DySP office, Ettumanoor Hi-tech police facility, and an office in Kottayam were chosen as the venues. But considering the sensitive nature of the case and the strong protection needed for the day, IG Vijay Sakhare chose Tripunithura Crime Branch office.
Alternative arrangements were also made at these centres for continuing the process in case anything hampered the ongoing interrogation.
Franco dodges media
In a high drama, Franco Mulakkal dodged media as he travelled by road from Muringoor in Thrissur and pulled up at the crime branch office leaving the media crew waiting in vain in front of his brother Philip’s house in Kochi and misleading them with another vehicle.
The bishop arrived in Kochi on Tuesday evening and left for his brother’s house in Thrissur. Earlier, it was informed that he would report for interrogation around 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
In a high drama, Franco Mulakkal dodged media as he travelled by road from Muringoor in Thrissur and pulled up at the crime branch office leaving the media crew waiting in vain in front of his brother Philip’s house in Kochi and misleading them with another vehicle.
The bishop arrived in Kochi on Tuesday evening and left for his brother’s house in Thrissur.
Earlier, it was informed that he would report for interrogation around 10 a.m. on Wednesday. But he reached by 11 a.m.
To trail the bishop from Thrissur to Tripunithura, reporters and camera persons were present early at the roads.
However, to mislead them, his brother arranged a decoy run on an SUV from his house.
As the media started to follow the SUV, the bishop left for Tripunithura in a Volkswagen Polo car with bright shades on the rear windows to avoid contact with the media.
He reached Tripunithura through the Seaport-Airport Road via Kakkanad.
Few meters before the spot, the car was supposed to take a left through a pocket road to reach the Crime Branch office. However, on witnessing the presence of the huge media crew, the car went straight and then took the second left to the Market Road to reach the office on another route.
On the way, it stopped at Hill Palace police station and with two policemen on motorcycle piloted the vehicle on the onward journey.
Police said that the pilot was to show the way. Even inside the office compound, the car was parked between two other vehicles so that the media and public do not get a clear view of the bishop.
Even when he came out after interrogation, it was hard to get a clear view of the bishop.
